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US 5,177,944 AGranted
Harvesting crop from parallel windrows
OwnerDouglas K. Finlayinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerDouglas K. Finlayinventor
Estimating the term…
A crop harvesting machine comprises a main frame attached to a hitch of the type which pivots about a centre point of the main frame. On the main frame is attached a draper frame which pivots relative to the main frame and includes arms extending downwardly and forwardly from the main frame for supporting a draper section which comprises a single draper extending across the full width of the machine with rollers at the ends of the draper positioned directly at the ends of the machine. In front of the single draper is positioned a pickup section pivotally mounted relative to the draper frame and controlled in height by guage wheels. The width of the machine is sufficient to pickup two windrows simultaneously at fourteen foot spacings, to deposit the crop from the windrows simultaneously onto the draper and to move the crop to one end of the draper for deposit onto the ground. This action provides a single windrow for subsequent collection by a baler in which the material which is previously been lying directly on the ground is now stacked upwardly from the ground for drying.
A crop harvesting machine comprising a main frame, ground wheels on the frame for transportation of the frame across the ground in a working direction, a draper mounted on the frame including a pair of draper rollers each rotatable about a respective roller axis, means for driving the rotating one of the rollers about its respective axis and a draper canvas wrapped around the roller so as to define an upper run and a return run, the rollers being mounted on the frame with the axis of each lying parallel to the working direction and with one of the rollers being arranged at one end of the machine and the other of the rollers being arranged at an opposed end of the machine such that the upper run extends along the full length of the machine to transport crop deposited thereon to one of said ends, and a pickup assembly having a front roller and a rear roller parallel to the front roller with each roller lying along the machine substantially from said one end to said opposed end and belt means wrapped around the rollers for transporting the crop rearwardly, the rollers being located in front of the draper so as to lift crop from a windrow on the ground for deposit onto the draper for transport by the draper to said one of said ends for discharge, said machine having from said one end to said opposed end a length of at least fourteen feet so that the pickup assembly can lift simultaneously two side by side windrows for transport simultantaneously on said draper to said one of said ends for discharge.
A method of harvesting crop comprising forming parallel equally spaced windrows of the crop, simultaneously picking up crop in two of the parallel windrows, depositing the picked up crop onto a single draper canvas, moving the draper canvas in a direction at right angles to the windrows and depositing the crop from the windrows simultaneously and directly from an end of the draper canvas onto the ground to form a common windrow of the crop.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.